James Cameron Dismisses Avatar 2 VFX Comparisons With Marvel: ‘Give Me A Break’

James Cameron does not want any comparisons regarding the visual effects of his new film Avatar 2: The Way of Water with Marvel, claiming that the motion capture and building emotive faces from VFX is “not even close”.

Both Avatar and the Marvel films use extensive motion capture technology so that real actors can play otherworldly creatures.

“Obviously, the big comic book films have been driving the sheer volume of the industry,” James replied when asked about the plethora of recent Marvel movies and whether they have motivated him in any way to raise the bar of VFX. “The rising tide of technique raises everybody together. It gives you higher quality artists, more tools and plug-ins and code [to use]. You’ve got more talented people writing code out there.”

Responding to the question posed by ComicBook.com in an interview, the Titanic (1997) director added, “Our team at WETA Digital [the New Zealand effects company cofounded by Peter Jackson] is constantly having new hires, and it’s coming out of that pool, so it improves everything. That said, WETA FX, as it’s called now, is the best. Right? Industrial Light & Magic does great work, but when it comes to the kind of emotive facial stuff that we’re doing… Thanos? Come on. Give me a break. You saw [Avatar: The Way of Water]. It’s not even close. It’s what WETA did.”

The director has been critical of the characters in Marvel and DC films earlier too, having said how the characters in those movies mostly act like they are in college and that he strives to bring maturity in terms of characterization in his Avatar movies which are lacking in those films. Avatar: The Way of Water received rave reviews from an earlier press screening, and is all set for a release in cinemas – in 3D and IMAX – on December 16.